The Story of Harry Bones
by I'm The Nobody
Summary: What if the Dursleys did not want to keep Harry anymore, and Amelia Bones adopted him? This is the journey of Harry's new life with his foster-mother Amelia, cousin Susan and lots of friends in Hufflepuff! ON HIATUS
1. The Departure

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Hey everyone, this is my first fanfic. I am a bit nervous about how readers will react to this story, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. And I'm not British, so there might be a mixture of American and British words. If you find any mistakes, please correct me. And please review!

**Chapter 1: The Departure**

It was almost past midnight. Amelia Bones, the head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement, was sitting in her living room, thinking of her brother. Today was the 3rd death anniversary of Edgar, her brother, and his wife. Ever since then, her niece Susan had moved in with her.

Amelia's living room was neatly decorated. There was a large sofa at one side of the room. On the other side was the fireplace. The mantelpiece was filled with moving pictures of Amelia and Susan, in photo frames, and a three-year old newspaper cutting of the Daily Prophet, announcing that Lord Voldemort had finally been defeated.

She took a look at a photo of Susan, and felt a sudden grudge against Voldemort. It was for him that she had lost her brother and sister-in-law; it was for him that Susan never got to see her parents; and it was for him that Susan had to go and live with her aunt. And although Amelia did care a lot for her niece, it was never the same as having a mum and a dad.

Sighing, she picked up the muggle newspaper from the table before her. Although she was a witch, she always liked to keep herself updated with the muggle world. She often found this practice very useful, since it helped her to blend with the muggle society when there was a need.

There was a small announcement at the bottom left corner of the front page. Amelia found these notices very interesting, sometimes even more than the news. It stated:

**ADOPTION NOTICE**

**An orphan named Harry Potter, aged 4 has been put up for adoption. Anyone interested to adopt this orphan can contact: Vernon Dursley, number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.**

Harry Potter…Privet Drive….Vernon Dursley…. The names whirled inside Amelia's head. The orphan was Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Spies from the Ministry of Magic had always kept an eye on Harry and reported to her daily. She knew how much the boy suffered there; what he had to go through everyday, but she could do nothing about it at all.

Three years ago, this Harry Potter led to the downfall of Lord Voldemort on Halloween. His parents died that night. He was then picked up from Godric's Hollow and sent to live with his muggle aunt and uncle. Why Dumbledore sent him to live with the muggles was a mystery to her….but he never explained it to anyone, anyway. _Did this old man know what Harry Potter underwent at number four, Privet Drive?_ She thought bitterly.

_Time to change things. _Amelia thought. _No more torture from the Dursleys. From tomorrow onwards, Harry Potter would be growing up with a loving wizarding family._ And yawning, she walked to her bedroom upstairs, and fell asleep instantly.

Amelia Bones Apparated at Privet Drive and searched for house number four. Once she found it, she rang the doorbell and a horse-faced woman opened the door, wearing a look of suspicion.

'Hello, is this the Dursley residence?' Amelia asked calmly.

'Yes, it is. How can I help you?' The woman asked in return.

'My name is Amelia Bones. I saw this announcement in the newspaper the previous day about an adoption and was wanting to…..'

'Oh, yes, come in. Vernon will be meeting you shortly. Have a seat.'

The woman went away. As Amelia comforted herself on the sofa, a big, beefy man entered the living room.

'Good morning. I am Vernon Dursley. Pleased to meet you.' The man said, and held out his hand.

'Same to you, sir. I am Miss Amelia Bones.' She replied, giving the flabby hand a small shake. 'I saw your advertisement on the paper yesterday.'

'Ah yes, about Harry Potter, my nephew. Why do _you _want to adopt him, Ms. Bones?' Vernon asked politely.

'Hmm. You see, Mr. Dursley, my niece Susan, is also an orphan and had been living with me, just like Harry had been living with you. I thought that she could do with some company.'

This was absolutely true, since Susan scarcely had any friends other than Hannah Abbott.

'Well Mr. Dursley, may I know the reason why you are putting him up for adoption?'

'Err….you see, he's the son of my wife's sister. They didn't get along very well. And since my sister-in-law and her husband is dead now, we thought it would be better for him to move with a…um… a new family.'

_You mean that you've just gotten tired of keeping him at your house. Lily and James Potter died three years ago, not recently._ She thought to herself, although she did not say anything.

'Can I take a look at the boy?' Amelia asked.

'Yes, of course. I'll just go fetch him.' A few moments later, he returned with a short, skinny boy, who was wearing glasses held together by Sellotape. His clothes were old and shabby, and were twice as large as Harry's size. She suspected that the clothes were second-hand, and belonged to his cousin, at first.

'Hi Harry. How are you doing?' Amelia asked kindly. Harry's lips moved but no answer came out.

'Don't mumble, boy!' Vernon Dursley ordered.

'Fine,' Harry answered, this time a little louder; although his voice clearly said that he was not at all fine.

'Why is your hair so messy, boy? Couldn't you tidy up a bit before coming to see our guest?' Mr. Dursley scolded him.

Frustrated, Harry tried to fix his hair with his little hands. And for just a single moment, a lightning-shaped scar was visible on his forehead, before it disappeared again beneath his hair. _This definitely is Harry Potter._ If there was still a tinge of uncertainty, the scar only confirmed it. _This was Harry Potter, the son of Lily and James Potter….the Boy who lived._

'Harry, why don't you come back here after packing up all your things? Today, you will be moving to a new home with me.' Amelia replied.

Harry nodded and went away, almost galloping. He wanted to get away from the Dursleys as fast as he could. Even if that meant leaving with a completely unknown woman. Surely, nobody could be worse than the Dursleys?

Vernon gaped at Amelia. 'Now, woman, you can't just take him and leave. I've got about four more clients…. what will I say to them? I asked them for some time, and the same goes for you too, ma'am.'

Amelia stared at him coldly. Then with a calm yet determined voice, she said, 'Listen, Mr. Dursley, if money's what you want, I'll pay you as much as you require. But I _will _adopt Harry Potter.'

'I never said anything about money. There is no need to pay. But, the clients…..'

Amelia stopped him. 'Say "no" to the other clients. I will take the boy, no matter what. Honestly, even if you families detest each other, the boy still deserved better treatment from his uncle and aunt and cousin. Have you ever taken a look at his clothes?' She shot a dirty look at Mr. Dursley.

At that moment, Harry entered the room, carrying a small trunk. He face was beaming with joy. He was getting away from the Dursleys!

'Come on, Harry, dear.' Amelia took the trunk in one hand, grabbed Harry's small hand in the other and moved to the doorstep.

'Good day, sir.' She said to Mr. Dursley. Then she walked outside with Harry and Apparated back to the Bones Manor, leaving a dumbfounded Vernon Dursley behind.


	2. His New Home

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Thanks for reading & reviewing the first chapter, everyone. You have no idea how much this means to me. Please R&R.

**Chapter 2 – His New Home**

Although named Bones Manor, the building was nothing like a manor. It was an ordinary English house like any other – a two storeyed structure with quite a large backyard and a lawn at the front paved with flowering plants, where Amelia was now standing and little Harry was lying flat on his back, panting. He certainly wasn't used to Side-Along Apparition.

'What just happened? How did we come here so fast?' Harry asked, still panting and looking as if he was going to be sick.

'We Apparated here, sweetie,' came the reply.

'Apparate? What is it?' The little boy asked blankly.

'Apparition is a magical method of transportation. Well, it's just a form of teleportation. You'll learn all about this when you grow up, Harry.' The witch answered sweetly.

The boy nodded, as if he clearly understood everything about Apparition. This was the advantage of being young – they took everything lightly and did not freak out seeing something like magic.

'This is Bones Manor, your new home,' Madam Bones informed Harry.

'Does it mean I don't have to go back to the Dursleys ever again?' Harry asked curiously.

'Never. You'll be staying here.'

They entered the hall. It was a large square room. On the left was a large door that, Harry supposed, took to the living room. At the opposite was the kitchen. He could smell breakfast there, which made him feel hungry. The hall led to a spiral staircase, which would direct them upstairs.

'Zippy!' Amelia called out. There was a loud crack. The next moment, Harry found himself looking down at a short miserable-looking creature. It had a pointy nose, large eyes and bat-like ears. The creature, whatever it was, was wearing a white sleeveless shirt that fell up to his knees. The shirt was dirty but not ragged.

'Mistress wanted to see Zippy?' the creature asked.

'Yes, Zippy. We have a new member in the family. This is your young master Harry. And Harry, this is Zippy, our house elf. Now Zippy, take Harry's trunk upstairs.'

Zippy took the trunk from his mistress and disappeared again with a crack.

'What was that?' Harry asked, looking slightly taken aback.

'Zippy is a house-elf.' Amelia answered. Seeing Harry opening his mouth again, she hastily added, 'I'll explain later. You need to eat now,' and dragged Harry to the kitchen.

The kitchen table was rectangular, with six chairs on the sides, and was laid with different types of food. There were eggs, there was bacon, there were sausages, toasts, muffins, cereals – in short, the table contained about what the Dursleys had everyday, but for once, Harry knew that he could eat whatever he liked here, and not just the leftover of the Dursleys.

Madam Bones introduced him to Susan, her niece, who was a tiny, red-headed girl of about his age, chewing toast at one corner of the table.

Harry sat down opposite Susan and the woman sat beside him. He was simply astounded at the kindness of this strange woman. He was only three, but he knew from the Dursleys that he was not wanted. _Then why was this woman being so nice to him? _Harry thought, looking at her face. There was no sign of hatred in her eyes, it only showed love and concern.

'Have some sausage,' she smiled at Harry.

Harry picked up a sausage, and nibbled it from one corner. 'Can I ask you something?' He found himself saying to the woman.

'Anything,' the reply came.

'Erm… who are you? And why…why are you being so nice to me?' He finally asked.

The woman was still smiling, to Harry's surprise. 'My name is Amelia Bones. And why am I being so nice to you? Because we are a family now, aren't we? You don't have to go back to your aunt and uncle ever again. They don't want you. But _we _do! That is why I took you with me. You are now a member of the Bones family.

'I know that you have not been treated well at your aunt's, but that does not mean that everyone will treat you badly. Harry, there are lots of people who love you, and care for you. The thing is, you just did not know them. But remember, we will always be there for you.'

Harry's vision was blurred with tears. He knew that whatever this Amelia Bones said, she really meant it. He did not understand what kind of people she was talking about, but he had learned that he was not alone anymore.

There was a large _crack _in the fireplace and a bearded face with half-moon glasses was visible in the fire.

'What the… oh Albus, come in! It's almost midnight, Albus!' Amelia exclaimed. Just like the previous night, she had been sitting on the sofa in the living room. It had been a rather eventful day.

The tall figure wearing a scarlet cloak stepped inside the living room. His hair was completely white, and so was his beard and moustache. His face showed that he was a learned man.

'Amelia, what have you done?' The man, Albus Dumbledore asked impatiently.

'What are you talking about?' She asked in return.

'About Harry, of course. Why did you take him away from the Dursleys?'

'Albus, I don't know why you place him with them, but I think that they are absolute idiots. Harry deserves far better treatment as a nephew than what his aunt and uncle gave him. And in fact, you know what Albus, they were giving him away. And I thought that, well if he must go somewhere else, why not in a place where he could learn about the wizarding world?' She said it in one go.

Dumbledore stared at her for a few seconds. Then he replied, 'Listen Amelia, I also wouldn't have placed Harry with the Muggles if I could've helped it. But there was no other choice. Petunia Dursley was Harry's only living relative and carried Lily's blood. Lily Potter had died to save Harry, and he was protected by the power of love. Thus, as long as he called number four, Privet Drive his home, he was safe from Lord Voldemort.'

'But Harry already acknowledges this place as his new home. This would mean…'

The old wizard stopped her. 'Ah, now you see the problem. The blood wards will not work any more. I asked the Dursleys to let him stay with them, at the very least. But they did not obey even that.

'I know Amelia you must be feeling guilty now for removing Harry from the Dursley residence. But just like you said, they were giving him away anyway. It's lucky that you took him, Amelia, since this would give Harry the chance to learn more about magic.'

'But Albus, the blood protection is gone now. What are we going to do about it?' Amelia asked in a scared voice.

'Let it be like that for the time being. Lord Voldemort does not have a body now, and thus cannot cause Harry any harm. Teach him a bit about our wizarding world – I know that the Dursleys never told him anything about it for a fact – about his parents and about Voldemort, and hopefully everything will be just fine.'

And with that, the wise old warlock sprinkle some Floo powder into the fire, stepped in it and disappeared in a flash.


End file.
